sandy caused significant damage to liberty island. the storm hit the new york area a day after the national monument was reopened after renovation. experts are warning of an illegal practice. consumer advocates say unscrupulous sellers will use title washing to move cars once flooded and full of sand from new york and new jersey and sell them. experts suggest car buyers pull vehicle history report or let a mechanic that you trust look at the vehicle and they also recommend doing a smell test. >> the odor because when a car sits in standing water, particularly in saltwater, that car will take on a smell that's difficult to get rid of. >> there are reportedly 16,000 new and up to 250,000 used cars that were damaged by sandy. >> a task force formed by governor o'malley determined that mega-storms cost consumers millions and the panel came up with recommendations designed to reduce the frequency of power outages. >> snowmageddon, the suffocating and paralyzing storm, cost consumers more than $12 million. hurricane irene cost consumers $31